These bleak December days

In spite of having oodles of time, way more than I ever dreamed possible before retirement, I feel as if I've been frittering it away lately. The surge of energy I started with back in Spring has dwindled to the odd short burst of activity before indolence sets in again. 

Covid-19 restrictions and lack of daylight are a lethal combination forcing one into semi-hibernation. 

The garden is hibernating too. One by one the plants which gave us so much pleasure in the Summer months are calling it a day. The last of the leaves have been swept up, Spring bulbs have been planted, and all we can do now is wait. 

Now, more than ever, life is a waiting game at this time of year. Waiting for time to pass, for the days to get longer again, and for the weather gods to magic away the rain clouds even if only for a day.

Two weeks ago on Saturday was such a day. For most of the morning, the sky was a blanket of grey and with a goose-bumpy 6°C, it initially didn't look too inviting. However, after having been cooped up inside the house for most of the week, we were thankful for the small mercy that at least it looked set to remain dry.

I dressed warmly to combat the chill, wearing a fur collared and cuffed Tweed jacket for which the cold was no match. The jacket is part of a suit, last worn in its entirety back in January. Found at Think Twice, it has been gracing my wardrobe for many a year. My green beret was a Think Twice find too, while the riotously coloured woollen scarf was picked up in a charity shop.

We opted for a short stroll rather than a longer walk, our destination of choice being the municipal park of the nearby town of Boom, a mere 15 minutes drive from Dove Cottage.

And look what greeted us when we stepped out of the car! The patches of blue between the fluffy white clouds gladdened our hearts. Silhouetted against the winter-blue sky the skeleton trees seemed to wiggle their twiglets in greeting and beckon us in. 

A veritable sight for sore eyes awaited us when we entered the park, where we were delighted to see that there was plenty of water in the once silted up brook leading towards the series of ponds at the far end of the park. We'd often felt sorry for the park's paddling of ducks (how delightful is that collective noun!) who had to make do with the odd muddy and foul smelling puddle.

Rather than following the course of the brook as we usually do, we opted for the path skirting the edge of the park, which in spite of having visited many times before was unknown territory for us.

Just before the path met another entrance from the main road, we turned left, making our way towards the park's heart again, passing a tavern which was closed for obvious reasons, its adjacent playground looking quite forlorn, but presided over by a gentle, mustachioed giant.

We realized we'd never been here this time of year before, and where in Summer the park's surrounding streets are hidden behind thickets of green, there was now no pretending that we were in the middle of a forest.

Looking for a sheltered spot for outfit photos, we left the path to walk among the layer of Autumn leaves. At some point, we must have disturbed a squirrel, who promptly scuttled away and, quick-as-lightning, disappeared out of sight into one of the trees.

Try as we might, we could not locate it, but I bet it was snickering up there behind the curtain of russet leaves in the fork of that tree.

The pinkish-red skirt I was wearing, in a deliciously warm and stroke-able blend of polyester and mohair, was joined by a black, rose patterned King Louie jumper which came to me by way of a charity shop.

I wore it over my skirt, adding a fabric belt belonging to a vintage dress I haven't worn in ages. For extra warmth, a dark, greyish green fluffy cardigan - another charity shop find - was worn on top. The black floral necklace was picked up at an outdoor flea market several Summers ago.

The next day, Sunday, was a very bleak and inclement day, the mercury halting at a mere 3°C.

We only briefly hopped outside for outfit photos after lunch, just long enough to show you the vintage C&A dress I was wearing that day. Another wool enriched polyester blend, the dress had been about to be put into the sell-or-give-away boxes when I decided to give it another chance.

For some reason, I thought its sage green colour would be too bland on me, but what I saw in the mirror seemed to prove me wrong. 

I accessorized the dress with a shiny vinyl, caramel coloured belt, my favourite multi-coloured beaded necklace and a brooch featuring a twinkling, amber coloured rhinestone in a nest of gold wire.

Too chilly to go it alone out in the garden, I wore a caramel beret and threw on a sleeveless "faux sheep" vest, a cheeky high street buy back in November 2017.

My memory is another blank where it concerns that day, but luckily my journal tells me I hadn't been completely idle.

Fed up with the faded buttons on my green Mango cardigan, I replaced them with these cute vintage ones from my stash. There, better!

Once again skipping Monday's office day, we have now arrived at Tuesday 8 December. 

With the temperature still in the low single figures, I thought it was time for the final stage of my wardrobe switch, exchanging the two sides of the coat wardrobe, so that now all my Winter coats are on the left, most easily accessible, side. 

I unearthed this plaid wool jacket which frankly speaking I'd forgotten all about.  Bought in a vintage shop opposite my hairdresser's, it's graced with a soft furry collar and cleverly disguised side pockets.

As you can see, I wasted no time in wearing it, accompanied by a burgundy belt, caramel beret and brown speckled scarf.

The pleated skirt with its abundance of flowers interrupted by rows of berries and Paisley joined my wardrobe in October 2019, when it was part of a € 4 a piece Think Twice haul.

Both the teal jumper and the necklace with its mix of wooden and ceramic beads were retail buys from eons ago. The burgundy leather belt was charity shopped while, if I remember correctly, the enamelled iris brooch was once upon a time picked up at our favourite and sorely missed indoor flea market

I'd been a good girl that day, vacuuming and dusting the sitting room, hallway and dining room. My reward was our first post-lockdown 2.0 visit to a charity shop.

We chose our most local one for the honour and, while I masked up and went in first, Jos followed me a couple of minutes later, as shopping is still restricted to a solo activity here in Belgium. We are also supposed not to indulge in any fun-shopping and to only stay inside a shop for a maximum of 30 minutes. Well, what's the point of going charity shopping if you can't have fun? Lately, it feels as if there's a rule against having fun and you're actually being made to feel ever so slightly guilty if you do!

Well, I did have fun, so there, and what's more, the charity shop goddesses looked down on me favourably as well!

I found two blouses (top and bottom left), a chunky knit cardigan (top right) and a Tweed skirt (bottom right), as well as a funky necklace, which you can see on top of the pile in the photo above the collage. 

You'll get to see it all in detail in my next posts, as everything except for the skirt has been worn already.

I also managed to grab a vintage dress from the rails, in a purplish blue printed with a confetti of tiny pink flowers. Its cute label shows a bird - a finch in all probability - and the name Ein Fink Modell, and although I couldn't find any information on it, I can tell with certainty is that its origins lie in a German speaking country.

The sizing seems to be a bit off, as I'm usually a size 40 or thereabouts, and this size 36 is a tiny bit generous on me! You'll see me wearing it shortly!

I'm finishing this post with a little forward leap to Wednesday 16 December, when the postman rang our doorbell bearing a parcel of joy all the way from Spain.

I simply cannot wait for the weather to get colder again so that I can wear this gorgeous scarf and beret combo crocheted by the lovely Monica! Thank you again for thinking of me!

And now, it is time to say goodbye once more. Do stay safe, my dears!